Pseudogap formation in organic superconductors

Abstract

The condensation of paired fermions into superfluid states changes progressively depending on the coupling strength. At the midpoint of the crossover between Bardeen--Cooper--Schrieffer (BCS) weak-coupling and Bose--Einstein condensate (BEC) strong-coupling limits, paired fermions condensate most robustly, thereby leading to the emergence of a pseudogap due to enhanced pairing fluctuations. In the case of electrons in solids, excessively strong interactions often induce competing electronic orders instead of strong-coupling superconductivity, and experimental comprehension of the pseudogap remains incomplete. In this study, we provide experimental evidence demonstrating the opening of a pseudogap, marking the incipient stage of the BCS-BEC crossover in the organic system $\kappa$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$$X$. By controlling electron correlations, we investigate the thermodynamic properties of the BCS-BEC crossover and pseudogap phase. Since the superconductivity of $\kappa$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$$X$ arises from a simple Fermi liquid that does not exhibit any other electronic orders, our study shed light on the inherent nature of the BCS-BEC crossover.